New Energies for an old world

A group of citizens interested in protecting the environment, full of ideas for its conservation since 2006, started to organise exhibitions showcasing means of renewable energy sources, environmentally-friendly cars (preferably with zero emissions), solar energy and general environmental issues.

The idea is to fill the enormous ‘public information gap’ on these issues - from a practical point of view. The concept grew, with interest and support from at least two Algarve councils - and today the region puts on biennial events dedicated to renewable energy.

One of these – quite a small event - takes place in Quarteira, focussing mainly on solar technology. A second will be up-coming in Monte Gordo next month. In this one, the focus will be on electrically-powered vehicles. “It is an interactive exhibition, where people can test-drive cars, and find out what is currently available on the market”, says António Brito.

“There’s endless press coverage about the pollution caused by cars, but we never hear anything about electric vehicles. We continue to be dominated by petrol. What we want is a really independent energy source”, he says.

“Nowadays, it is perfectly possible to have an electric vehicle that meets our daily needs. There are scientific studies that show that 90 per cent of daily trips are within a 50 kilometre radius of people’s home”.

“People do not realise, but there are electric scooters that can travel from Lisbon to Faro without stopping to recharge. There is one company that makes a motorbike that can reach speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour, with a battery that can travel the same kind of distances.

“For example, a scooter that sells for just €1.300, costs around 40 cents in energy for each 100 kilometres travelled. It’s extraordinarily cheap! It’s comfortable, environmentally friendly and makes no noise. It doesn’t need oil, or incur maintenance costs,” he adds.

Thus, the event in Monte Gordo is not simply a show of experimental vehicles, but a culmination of practical ideas for everyday life. Electric bicycles are other options on display. “They are hardly different to the regular models. The motors are tiny and the batteries only weigh two kilos, but they can go up to 60 kilometres without pedalling. If you gave it a go, you could easily do a round-trip of the entire Algarve! There are various models, from all-terrain, to leisure. They cost around €1.000, and have aluminum frames, shock absorbers and disc brakes”.

But for those who dream of never spending money on petrol again, there’s still a long way to go - even though electrical cars have been around for a while.

“Electric vehicles have actually been around since 1865! From 1900, there were actually more electric cars in circulation than there were fuel cars. They looked like old-fashioned horse carriages. and there were many makes available”, Brito explains.

“What happened was that it became much easier to create an international network of liquid fuel pumps than to supply enough power to individual homes”. Here in Portugal, electricity supplies were late in coming, and only available throughout the country at the end of the 1970s”.

For now, electric cars on sale in Portugal have a distance range that does not quite reach 100 kilometres. One possible solution for this could be the joint Nissan/ Renault venture, which aims to enable people to charge batteries as they travel until they reach their final destination.

“An electric vehicle only has about a third of the components of a conventional car” but its technology has yet to win over the market - mainly due to errors in marketing and the strength of the oil lobbies.

“In countries like France, the Citroen Saxo were delivered without batteries! People had to rent batteries, which was expensive. For this reason, only the councils and postal services bought them. Also, no publicity campaign was ever mounted”, he reflects.

Brito thinks the government has made “great strides” to promote this sector. “For Portugal, any electric car, new or second-hand imported into the country pays no tax”, he explains.

The Monte Gordo event also aims to show other uses and possibilities for this type of energy. These days it is perfectly possible for almost anybody interested in producing energy for either personal or business use, to do so.

The passing of Law nº. 363/ 2007 simplified the process known as “Microproduction”. Quite simply, it is the production of energy by the consumer, using small-scale equipment - mostly solar panels, wind turbines or other technologies.

As an example, “with an investment of around 20 thousand euros, people can have a system that can produce electricity that they could sell, enabling them to earn around 300 euros a month. All that is needed is around 25 to 30 metres of roofing facing the sun. There is a legal limit for selling, but it is enough to guarantee maximum profits”, he adds.

“For example, there is a large building in Faro, with 130-apartments, where the tenants were paying huge monthly electricity bills due to four elevators. What has happened is all the owners have come to an understanding and are going to invest in a solar-powered system. Quite simply, they will never have to pay an electricity bill again”.

But green energy isn’t a subject that interests everyone. Not so long ago, in all parts of the country, the first generation of solar panels was installed by incompetent technicians with unreliable systems. “This clearly gave solar water heating in Portugal a very poor image.”

But today there are more than 400 companies to choose from - working in all areas of solar energy. Most equipment has a seven to 10-year guarantee and at least a 20-year life span.

With the hours of sunlight enjoyed throughout the year in the Algarve, “there is absolutely no need to install gas water heaters in homes anymore” - quite apart from the benefits saved by ruling out energy taxes, on which there is a government monopoly.

“People are more economists than ecologists. When it costs two cents more to be an ecologist, people rapidly lose interest in the preservation of the planet. Happily, today there are various factors which when joined together allow economy and ecology to walk hand in hand”, Brito concludes.

In the Algarve especially, there are already companies using renewable energy. From a solar-powered boat offering trips up the Ria Formosa, to a company in downtown Faro that rents «seg-ways», there are several examples of how renewable energy can be profitable and sustainable. There is also a taxi company that rents out electric bicycles, and recently Silves bought an electric street-cleaning vehicle.

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